With the 2019 NBA Draft less than a week away, the Oklahoma City Thunder will have to make a decision with their lone draft pick (No. 21 overall). Conflicting reports about the Thunder’s approach to the draft on June 20 have flown around. Not more than a week ago, a report surfaced expressing Oklahoma City might shop its first-round pick, but a more recent report indicates the Thunder will keep their pick to draft young talent.
However, in Sports Illustrated’s most recent 2019 NBA mock draft update, Jeremy Woo mentions, “Word around the league is that the Thunder, who continue to live in the luxury tax, have been exploring attaching this pick to a contract in trade scenarios to help offload salary.”
Should the Thunder make the pick, Woo projects Oklahoma City will take Indiana guard Romeo Langford:
The feeling around the league continues to be that Langford will slip out of the lottery on draft night, and there’s a possibility he falls a bit further than that. He played through injuries during the season and does have a strong long-term track record as a scorer, and the uneven season he had has positioned him as more of a buy-low opportunity for someone.
Langford has the length of an NBA guard (6-foot-6), but he didn’t show signs of being a long-range shooter while with the Hoosiers (27.2 three-point percentage). He turns 20 in October, so there’s still room to grow. Perhaps he can become more efficient from deep in the right system, and thus a more dynamic player in the process.
